


Up the Block and Down the Street

by summerstorm



Category: The OC
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-12
Updated: 2010-12-12
Packaged: 2017-10-13 15:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/138931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerstorm/pseuds/summerstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So, I think we should talk about how you're moving to Taylor," Seth says. "Sorry, I meant Paris. We should talk about how you're <em>moving</em> to Paris."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up the Block and Down the Street

**Author's Note:**

> For abvj, who asked for the above with the prompt years down the road.

"So, I think we should talk about how you're moving to Taylor," Seth says. "Sorry, I meant Paris. We should talk about how you're _moving_ to Paris."

"I'm not moving anywhere," Ryan says, which is kind of funny considering he's currently throwing stuff into an open suitcase on his bed. Stuff like shirts.

"Dude," Seth says pointedly.

"I'm taking a six-month internship," Ryan says firmly.

"You're moving to Paris for six months," Seth says, and cocks his head. "And then some. It's okay, Ryan. You can admit it. I'll get you some French books. How are you doing with that, by the way? Are you sure you're not going to end up crying into Taylor's collar because she's literally the only one who understands you?"

"I think you may be projecting there," Ryan says, deadpan. "Just a little."

"We should make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen, Ryan," Seth says, ignoring him.

"Seth," Ryan says dryly. Seth assumes he's trying to get his attention, which is stupid, because he totally already has it. "Seth, listen to me," he says, eyes drilling into Seth's, and okay, okay, maybe Seth wasn't really listening before. Ryan's only spouting off lies. That he believes, but lies all the same. Seth tries to focus now. "This is not a Taylor mission."

"Okay, buddy," says Seth, "but don't say I didn't warn you."

*

Taylor gets to Roissy later than she planned to due to traffic, but early enough that she almost wishes she'd brought her laptop with her. She's probably bedraggled by the time Ryan's plane arrives, so she puts on her sunglasses and avoids looking on any reflective surfaces lest she feel the need to fix herself up and miss him.

Thankfully, she's in the right place at the right time, and she spots him almost easily, considering the size of the crowd.

With an elegant curtsy and in a grandiloquent tone, she says, "Soyez le bienvenu à Paris." She feels like she's in a movie, being all exaggerated and stuff. It's awesome.

"Uh," Ryan says, ever so eloquent, "thanks, I guess," and attempts to hug her. It's awkward. It's really awkward. She chalks it up to them being in a public place, because really, the last time they saw each other it had been about as long since the time before that, and Ryan had no trouble ripping off her clothes and practically manhandling her around her apartment.

"Now that you're staying for a lengthy amount of time, you can't tell me you don't have a second to let me show you around," Taylor says, bouncing on her heels as they make their way out of the airport. It's better to get these things out of the way first. There are places he can't leave without seeing. Taylor felt like a horrible tour guide for letting him get away with it last time.

"You realize I'm going to be working, right?"

"You're not going to be working twenty-four hours, every day, every week of every month you're here," Taylor says. "Surely I'll have you all to myself for an hour or two each—day? Week? Trust me, you're going to love Paris."

"That's what you said last time," Ryan points out, raising an eyebrow, and Taylor doesn't blush because she's not embarrassed. So they holed up in her apartment and barely came up for air. It had been a _really long time_ , okay?

"And you can't tell me you didn't enjoy yourself then," she retorts.

Ryan seems to think it over. "Guess I can't say that," he agrees.

*

Working in Paris is good. It's an experience, at least, which is the main thing both the guy who offered the internship to him and Sandy said it would be. There's so much that's completely different from the buildings he's gotten used to studying in person, the projects he's had to design for class in Berkeley. He's here because it furthers his education, it teaches him _useful_ things.

He doesn't mean to offend Taylor with his reasoning, or by having rented his own apartment at a—sort of long distance from Taylor's. It's not like he was trying to do that; he just figured they should have some time to get used to being around each other in the first place, and accepting Taylor's offer to just move in with her seemed like a recipe for disaster. But he's still in Paris, still in the _same city_ as Taylor—hell, even the same country would be an improvement over their previous version of long distance—and he thinks that's pretty good.

"Oh, I'm an _added bonus_ , is that it," Taylor snaps when he explains this. Again. He did over the phone, and there was an e-mail, and he even had Summer talk to her, just in case Taylor thought he wasn't serious about the not living with her thing. She hadn't really seemed mad about it before. Maybe it was seeing the actual apartment that did it. Hers is definitely bigger and less... sad-looking. It's not that odd that it would influence her mood. Surroundings can do that.

"What's so wrong about that?" he says. "I'm not saying I don't—want to be with you. I'm just saying it can be—hard to live together. I don't want us to crash and burn because we rushed into something."

Taylor takes a deep breath, then another. She looks a little bit like she was just nearly drowning instead of arguing over something completely inane.

"So you _do_ want to be with me," she finally comes up with. She looks expectant, in that way where Ryan has no idea what she's waiting for but he knows it's something she's aware he doesn't want or can't give her.

"Are you fishing for an I love you?" Ryan asks.

"Maybe," says Taylor.

"Come here," he says, stretching out his arm. She steps in, and halfway through the motion he says screw it to hugging and just kisses her.

*

Summer ropes Seth into a two-week visit to Paris in August, mostly because Seth's worried about Ryan leaving him alone in Berkeley forever, and Summer's worried about Seth's sanity. She's doing it for a good cause. The fact that it's Paris she's sacrificing her time for doesn't hurt, though.

"You can have my apartment," Taylor offers when Summer tells her. "I'll move in with Ryan. For just the two weeks you're here. It'll be a trial run. It'll show him I'm not hard to live with."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Summer says. "I think Seth really wants to spend some time with Ryan."

"And not with you?" Taylor asks, followed by a tsk that makes Summer roll her eyes.

"I'm taking this whole month off, we'll have the rest of that in Berkeley," Summer points out.

"But it's _Paris_ , Summer. _Paris_. You need to be with your—"

"Do not say your man," Summer warns, and Taylor presses her lips together in a weird grimace of a smile.

"Maybe Ryan will let me fix his wardrobe," Taylor says. "He calls it sabotage. I'm not sure how you can sabotage something where there's only room for improvement."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," Summer says. "And I'd pick a lane, you can't be low-maintenance and Taylor Townsend at the same time."

"So I should just be low-maintenance?"

"You should be yourself," Summer says.

"I can be low-maintenance," Taylor says, perking up.

Summer doesn't know if Taylor actually succeeds on some level, but about a week in, Taylor throws Seth out of her apartment and moves back in. Taylor just smiles mysteriously when Summer asks if she wants to talk about it, so Summer figures it can't possibly be that bad. Ryan and Taylor don't seem uncomfortable around each other. In fact, if Seth's cynicism hadn't rubbed off on her over the years, Summer would say they look weirdly into each other all of a sudden.

It takes Summer a few days to get Taylor to spill, which is weird because it's _Taylor_ , and Taylor never needs encouragement to overshare.

"Ryan was right," she says. "We can't live together. We're at the wrong relationship stage for it. His weird hours drove me crazy—"

"He has an eight to three job, Taylor," Summer points out.

" _Exactly_. I kept making him late for work. Go figure," Taylor says, sipping her cappuccino.

"Hm," Summer says, nodding slowly. "I can respect that."

"You should know I'm trying really hard not to get explicit here," Taylor says, which explains the reluctance to talk about her new perspective on her and Ryan's living arrangements.

"You should know I appreciate that," Summer says.


End file.
